National Bank Open | The “ManiAlcaraz”

Everyone fell in love with Carlos Alcaraz. This week, it’s Quebecers’ turn to fall under the spell of the young 19-year-old phenomenon.

Nicholas Richard
The Press

It was around noon on Saturday morning on the main promenade of the IGA stadium when, in the distance, the noise of a crowd came from court number eight, at the other end of the site. The more the noise progresses, the more heads turn and the more people disperse to line up on each side of the path. In the center, seated in the back of a golf cart, Carlos Alcaraz, all smiles, sends balls and signs autographs for the dozens of spectators, young and old, who follow the machine still in motion.

A scene that illustrates how real the “ManiAlcaraz” is. A scene that set the tone for Carlos Alcaraz’s first visit to Canada.

” There were a lot of people. It’s my first time here, I didn’t expect that! “Explained the young man at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

“People recognize us, and it’s fantastic to have so much support from people in Montreal! “, he added.

At only 19 years old, the Spaniard is experiencing extraordinary progress. In his first real season on the ATP Tour, he is the player everyone is talking about.

Alcaraz has won four tournaments since the start of the season, including three on clay, his favorite surface. He also made two finals, also on clay. However, his title in Miami on hard courts in the spring was able to silence his detractors who believed him incapable of winning on other surfaces.

A year ago, almost to the day, he was at 54^e world ranking rank. Today, he is in fourth place, which earns him the honor of being the second seed of the National Bank Open, by virtue of the withdrawals of Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz did not expect to become a top seed so quickly in a main draw of a Masters 1000 tournament. “Honestly, right now, I find it hard to believe. Except it’s something I wanted to accomplish at the start of the season. I wanted to be in the best players in the world. »

It is even a little embarrassed that he said he wanted to become the favorite of a major tournament soon.

The future Nadal?

The comparisons between Nadal and him are obvious and easy to make. Both are young prodigies, both are Spaniards, both are clay court specialists and both look good.

The toreador is one of the greatest champions of the National Bank Open. Nadal has won the tournament five times, including three times in Montreal. To know if he had consulted his compatriot before landing in the metropolis, Alcaraz let it be known that even if they get along well and that they respect each other, the two players are first and foremost rivals.

“Of course, Rafa is Rafa, but we are adversaries. We both fight for the same thing, for the same tournaments,” he said.

It is more to his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, also a Spaniard who has had success as a player in the past, that he seeks advice. The duo is on the same wavelength and this is also what could explain the rise of the one who is nicknamed Carlito.

Alcaraz is trying to make its own way. To do things his way. So far, being himself seems to be paying off, on and off the pitch.